....................480 Adams Street, Suite #208, Milton Massachusetts, USA • 617.696.7758
 
 
 
 

Town Rides Out Emergency Water Ban

By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
5/6/10
Whether there has been too much water in Milton after the spring rains, or too little after the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s water main break, residents have had their fill of dealing with the liquid necessity.

According to Board of Health Nurse Caroline Kinsella, phones were ringing in her office as residents turned to the town for answers on what to do about water issues.

“I’ve been busy answering phones and giving out the best information I can,” said Kinsella on May 3, two days after the break and a day before the day was lifted. “People are asking questions like if it’s safe to take a shower. We are referring many people to the MWRA Web site [www.mwra.com], which has a lot of information.”

Kinsella said while the town was not distributing water to residents, places like the Council on Aging were stocked with several cases of bottled water to give to elderly residents who may not have any access to it on their own. She reminded residents looking for options for bottled water that the old Pepsi plant at 1139 Randolph Ave. is a source for Milton Springs water. Customers must bring their own jugs, which can be filled with the natural spring water for 50 cents.

The Milton public schools sent an e-mail blast from Superintendent Mary Gormley to parents May 2 explaining how the schools would deal with the issue. All water fountains and sinks were covered and “Do Not Drink the Water” signs placed at those locations as well. Parents were encouraged to send at least one full bottle of water in to school with their children. Physical activities were kept to a minimum. Four hundred bottles of hand sanitizer were purchased and placed near each sink, and teachers were asked to review hand-washing procedures with students. School Lunch Director Jackie Morgan was confident that breakfasts and lunches could be served with no concerns.

According to Milton Hospital Director of Public Relations Jason Bouffard, the hospital handled the water emergency fairly well.

“We are under control and have an ample supply of bottled water,” he said. “On Saturday [May 1], we increased staff in the ER just in case patients got sick from ingesting tap water. Nothing like that happened. …Overall we are running pretty smoothly.”

He added that surgical equipment is sanitized in water well-above boiling temperatures, and surgeons had plenty of sterile or bottled water for scrubbing prior to surgical procedures.

In East Milton, some businesses were affected. Starbuck’s was forced to close, but across Adams Street, Dunkin’ Donuts was open and doing a brisk business. It was one of the only coffee shops open in the area.

“We are part of a franchise group that is able to sustain itself,” said Meaghan Duff, public relations and marketing director for Scrivanos Francise Network, owner of the local coffee shop. She said all water and ice needed for business was shipped from the company’s Brockton location. Any baked item needing water was shipped from another location.

Over at the Fruit Center at the Milton Marketplace, three large pallets of bottled water arrived on the morning of May 3, and workers were busy unloading it near the store’s entrance. The bottles were almost gone by the end of the day.

“Water is hard to come by,” said Michael Mignosa, whose family owns the Fruit Center. “We ran out of water in two hours on Saturday [May 1]. We were able to get this water from one of our milk companies. …We were also able to bring some up from our store in Hingham.”

Upstairs at the Marketplace Café, extra precautions were being taken with food preparation and sanitation. Water was pre-boiled for washing produce, and coffee was boiled before being served. Business was not as busy as usual, according to staffers at the café.